Shipping

Dry ice is a great way to ship frozen goods from one side of the country to the other. Because it does not melt and lasts much longer than wet ice, it’s the perfect, worry-free solution for many peoples’ food and medicinal shipping needs. In order to ensure your package arrives as intended, here are a few tips to keep in mind when shipping with dry ice:

Selecting the correct package is not only vital to protecting your goods from damage, but can also extend the dry ice’s effective cooling time. Use a specially made temperature-controlling package, as it will help your dry ice sublimate much slower. These are usually standard shipping boxes with a lining to maintain heat or coldness. Try a package like one of these.

Dry ice is best used to ship products that must be frozen for their journey. Because a package is packed tightly to prevent damage, dry ice will freeze any goods within close proximity.

We recommend 10 lbs. per 24 hours of travel. It is best to have an accurate idea of when your package will be delivered. If you are unsure of how quickly your package will arrive, we suggest packing closer to 15 lbs. per 24 hours of travel to be on the safe side.

As always, we suggest keeping an insulating material, such as a slab of Styrofoam or a terrycloth towel, between your goods and the dry ice itself. Wait a second…can you even ship dry ice? What are the rules about how you should pack it? Not to fear, dry ice fans! We’ve assembled some quick and easy tips that tell you what you should know about shipping with dry ice:

First, for domestic shipping, you can definitely ship with dry ice as long as it’s next-day or second-day service. We recommend 15 – 20 lbs. of dry ice to keep items frozen for up to 48 hours.

Via our friends at FedEx, here’s a good way to ensure you pack your food the right way with dry ice:
Via FedEx.com

Always keep something between what you’re packing and the dry ice. Cardboard, towels or plastic all work well.

For maximum effectiveness, sandwich what you’re packing between blocks of dry ice.

Do NOT try to make the package air-tight by wrapping the cooler with tape or plastic. The design and construction of packaging used for dry ice shipments must prevent the buildup of pressure that could cause rupturing. Simple insulation should do the trick.

For international shipping, the post office actually does not recommend shipping with dry ice since packages often get caught up in customs for longer than 48 hours. You’re welcome to try, but our sources say it’s a gamble.